New Zealand company Charlie's Group Limited has successfully launched its brand into the Australian market, and is being rolled out through its Phoenix Organics distribution network. “This has been a long time coming and marks a significant milestone and opportunity for Charlie’s Group” said CEO Stefan Lepionka. “We’re one of the few juice brands in Australia with our production facility located on an orange orchard, so we know we can keep supplying high-quality products for years to come.” Charlie’s has been available in most Australian states since October and has already opened 480 accounts in three weeks. “Through our Phoenix distributors, we have relationships with 4,500 accounts, so this gives us the potential for rapid penetration into the Australian market,” Lepionka added. Charlie's is also set to add Vitamin Water to its brand portfolio – a first foray into the enhanced water category for the New Zealand-based beverage company. The launch of 'Defence', 'Antioxidant', 'Multivitamin' and 'Energy' is set for December 2008. Banned advert At the beginning of 2008, Charlie's Group courted controversy with an animated marketing campaign for its range of fruit sodas.

Ready in six hours from inoculation to use, the increase in speed offered by Delvo-Star could provide cheese producers with greater flexibility in their manufacturing plants. Delvo-Star is added directly to pasteurised milk in the starter tank, so requires no media, eliminating a labour-intensive part of the culture preparation process. Peter Kempe, president of DSM Food Specialties USA, said: “The introduction of Delvo-Star is a real innovation for the dairy industry. It allows users to consistently produce cheese with the original texture and flavour, while speeding up and simplifying the overall process. By cutting the starter preparation time to just six hours, Delvo-Star is also the ideal solution for plants with limited starter capacity, giving them the freedom to make choices on a day to day basis. “DSM Food Specialties has been developing this culture system for several years and has recently implemented trials in mass production cheese plants. Cheese makers at these plants reported that they were impressed by the flavour, speed, reduced risk of cross-contamination and sustainability benefits offered by Delvo-Star."

*Beer consumer group, the Campaign for Real Ale, has attacked the decision by Carlsberg UK to close the iconic Tetley Brewery in Leeds by 2011. * CAMRA has criticised Carlsberg UK for failing to promote the famous Tetley beers at a time when consumer interest in real ales is growing. Bob Stukins, CAMRA Vice Chairman and Director of Brewery Campaigning, said: "It's unclear where Carlsberg UK intends to brew the famous Tetley beers. Brewed outside their Leeds heartland, I fear they would lack the provenance which today's discerning consumers expect. "While we recognise the enormous challenges facing the brewing industry at present, I think this is a shortsighted decision. Recent statistics clearly show that real ale is performing better than other beer styles in a declining market. There is an opportunity to respond to this, invest in the Tetley brands and bring them back to glory." CAMRA is calling on the Government to overturn its decision to increase beer duty over the next four years to give struggling breweries a chance to compete. The group claims that high beer tax is driving beer drinkers out of pubs and into their armchairs as the price gap between the on- and off-trade widens. Bob Stukins said, "The Government has a responsibility to act to save British jobs in brewing and pubs, and an urgent review of beer tax is required." CAMRA is seeking a meeting with Carlsberg UK bosses to discuss a way forward for the brewery. The brewery still has its unique open square fermenters and brews various real ales, including Tetley's Dark Mild, Tetley's Mild, Ansells, Best Bitter, Burton Ale and the famous Tetley Bitter. Mr Stukins added: "We have a two-year window of opportunity before the brewery gates are set to close for the last time. We will be supporting anyone who has a plan to keep the mash tuns running in this historic brewery, and we'll be looking at every possible option to save the brewery. Jobs and this iconic Yorkshire brewery shouldn't close due to the development potential of this city site."

William Stein, 10, from Finchley in London, battled it out with the British tennis ace to claim the championship trophy at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton. William fought off strong competition from 31 other finalists in the knockout stages of the competition for the chance to go head to head with Murray. Each of the 32 finalists won a Nintendo Wii games console and a place in the tournament by entering Highland Spring’s summer on-pack promotion. Stein commented on his win: “Meeting Andy was a dream come true. It's a great personal accolade to beat Andy Murray at Nintendo Wii tennis, especially as he's at the peak of his game.” Murray said: “I’m a huge fan of computer games, so it was great to be involved in the tournament. The Shanghai Masters are about to commence and with an intense training schedule, it was a good way of getting some practice in and having some fun at the same time.” Highland Spring is the exclusive beverage sponsor to Andy Murray, who hails from Dunblane, Perthshire, just 10 miles from the company’s bottling plant. Highland Spring also sponsors Jamie and Judy Murray.

*For the past few months, a jury of 12 packaging specialists have been looking at nearly 700 entries from 39 countries to find the winners of the 2008 Pentawards. * The winners of the international packaging design competition were handed their prizes during a special ceremony held at the Luxepack Exhibition in Monaco, France, on 30 October 2008. The award-winning creations will be displayed in various locations, including Paris, at the new DesignPack Gallery in January 2009, and the Shanghai Luxepack exhibition in March 2009. Winners The Piper Heidsieck Rosé Sauvage champagne bottle, signed by the Dutch designers Viktor & Rolf, presented to the competition and produced by Sleever International, won the Diamond Pentaward for Best of the Show 2008. The Platinum Pentawards, which crown the best packaging in the five major categories, are: * Beverages Category: Turner Duckworth, US, for Coca-Cola Aluminum * Food Category: Pemberton & Whitefoord, UK, for Tesco Tortilla Chips * Body Category: DesignBridge, Holland, for Schwarzkopf Professional OSiS+ * Other Markets Category: Aekyung, Korea, for Spark * Luxury Category: Dentsu Kyushu, Japan, for Yaoki Sake All the winning designs can be seen on the Pentawards website in collaboration with TheDieline.com. In addition to the Diamond Pentaward and the five Platinum Pentawards, the international jury has also awarded 27 gold Pentawards in the 44 competing categories this year. Silver and Bronze Pentawards were also handed out.

Fanta Apple will initally be launched in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu followed by a national rollout over the next two months. The new drink will be available in 200ml (priced at INR 8) and 300ml (INR 10) returnable glass bottles as well as 500ml PET pack (INR 22). The apple-flavoured Fanta variant will be promoted by the popular actress Genelia D'Souza via a TV commercial, as well as via a marketing campaign involving roadshows and extensive sampling throughout the country. “It gives me immense pleasure to announce the launch of Fanta Apple," said Venkatesh Kini, Vice-President- Marketing, Coca-Cola India. "This product has been developed specially for Indian palates. Apple is one of the most preferred fruits in the country. This innovation is a step towards strengthening the company’s market leadership in the fruit-flavoured sparkling drink segment."

*In order to meet the strong growth in demand, Emmi has proposed to double the length of the cave used for ageing its Kaltbach cheese. The investments will total around CHF 15m and completion of the work is planned for 2010. * The construction involves extending the cave by two kilometres, creating storage capacity for the next 20 years. “The expansion of the cave opens a new and particularly important chapter in the Kaltbach story,” said Othmar Dubach, MD of Emmi Käse AG, on the occasion of the official start of work on the cave in Kaltbach. The sandstone cave, which is currently around 1,000 metres in length and can store about 13,000 wheels of cheese, will soon be able to accommodate up to 50,000 ageing Kaltbach cheeses. During the construction work on the cave, which extends into the Santenberg, about 50,000 cubic metres of rock will be excavated using a machine designed for building tunnels. Rothpletz, Lienhard + Cie AG, Aarau will be responsible for the construction work. Kistler Architektur GmbH in Brunnen is handling the architectural side.

The Cheese Company is set to launch its popular Tickler cheese in the US just in time for Thanksgiving Day. The cheese will be available over the counter at Murray's Deli in New York, and will launch across the Midwest at selected Hy-Vee and Sendik’s stores. Under the Tuxford and Tebbutt brand (owned by The Cheese Company), Stilton and other speciality cheeses have been successfully exported to the US for many years, and adding the Tickler brand to the range will further enhance sales. Rebecca Miah, Senior Brand Manager at The Cheese Company, said: “We're very excited to launch Tickler in the US, and we're confident that this award-winning Cheddar will be a hit with the American market." Tickler is made in the heart of the Devon countryside at Taw Valley Creamery, and was launched in February 2007.

*Stonyfield farm has been running its own 'Flavor Election' concurrently with the US Presidential election campaign. * The promotional activity was run on the company's website and included candidate profiles, debates and videos. After weeks of campaigning and 28,000 votes further down the road, it was the Pomegranate Berry flavour that was chosen as the official winner of Stonyfield Farm's Flavor Election. And one lucky voter will win a year's worth of delicious Stonyfield Farm organic yogurt, just for casting one of the thousands votes counted. "Let's hope the results of our national elections are as satisfying as our Flavor Election," said Stonyfield Farm President and CEO Gary Hirshberg. "People want their vote to count, and Pomegranate Berry promises rich, creamy, fruity flavour, made with the goodness of organic milk and including our exclusive blend of natural probiotic cultures. Good tasting and good for you, too!"

Pepsi Raw, a natural cola launched earlier this year, will now be available to the take-home channel after an initial launch to UK pubs and bars, Britvic and PepsiCo announced today. The existing 300ml glass solus format is currently on-shelf in Waitrose, Harrods and Harvey Nichols. A new 250ml aluminium can format will go on sale at Boots in November before rollout to the convenience and impulse channel in 2009. New pack formats are in development to give consumers the opportunity to purchase exactly the right pack for their needs including a 4x250ml can multipack and a 4x300ml glass multipack. An 8x150ml can multipack will also be introduced for mixing purposes. Both formats will be on-shelf in early 2009. Pepsi senior brand manager at Britvic, Ounal Bailey, said: “Bringing Pepsi Raw to a wider audience is an exciting prospect as it allows us to build on the success the brand has already achieved in the on-premise channel. Pepsi Raw really adds value to the category for consumers and retailers, driving increased interest through its new and exciting yet recognisable cola taste. We’re sure Pepsi Raw will soon become a staple product in consumers’ cola repertoire.” Ounal added: “Cola is a hugely important category to the soft drinks market as it represents a quarter of all soft drinks sales in take-home and almost half in the on-premise sector. However, it's also a maturing category that needs rejuvenation to drive further growth. “Pepsi Raw has provided this through its unique formulation made with ingredients from natural sources, putting a new spin on an old favourite and generating real excitement in the category.”

The Coca-Cola Company, in partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), has created a new set of targets to improve water efficiency and reduce carbon emissions within its system-wide operations, while promoting sustainable agricultural practices and helping to conserve the world's most important freshwater basins, the company stated. "Our sustainability as a business demands a relentless focus on efficiency in our use of natural resources," said Muhtar Kent, President and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. "These performance targets are one way we're engaging to improve our management of water and energy." "In this resource-constrained world, successful businesses will find ways to achieve growth while using fewer resources," said Carter Roberts, President and CEO of WWF-US. "The Coca-Cola Company's commitment to conservation responds to the imperative to solve the global water and climate crisis." The partnership, announced by WWF and The Coca-Cola Company in 2007 with $20m in funding, has now been extended by two years (through 2012) with the company providing $3.75m in new funding. The Coca-Cola Company also joined WWF's Climate Savers programme, in which leading corporations from around the world work with WWF to dramatically reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. By 2010, Climate Savers companies will collectively cut carbon emissions by 14 million tons annually – the equivalent to taking more than three million cars off the road each year. "Water and energy conservation are areas where we can truly make a difference. Last year, we set a goal to return to communities and to nature an amount of water equal to what we use in our beverages and their production. These targets support our work to achieve that goal," said Muhtar Kent. "The expansion of our partnership with WWF demonstrates our shared dedication to achieving large-scale results, and a grounded understanding that collaboration is key if we are to help address the world's water challenges."

By Nayl D'Souza Editor, Water Innovation It was a great privilege to co-present the Water Innovation awards prize ceremony in Wiesbaden on 23 September. Although the splendid venue, food and hospitality on the evening were highly praised, the event's success was largely due to Zenith International Publishing Group Editorial Director Bill Bruce, who founded the competition, tackled the main hosting duties and screened a highly entertaining awards presentation for dinner guests. As you're aware, we received more than 200 entries from 40 countries in 2008, so thank you to everyone who participated this year. I'm sure you will enjoy the coverage on FoodBev.com, which includes <1>, <2> and some <3>. If you're a subscriber to Water Innovation itself, a 44-page Showcase Supplement is included with issue 50, featuring brief descriptions and pictures of all competition entrants based on submission materials. <(you can subscribe to water innovation magazine here.)>(you can subscribe to water innovation magazine here.)><4> Such a huge response kept the team at Water Innovation magazine very busy so please allow me to give some of my colleagues a special mention, particularly Awards Administrator Jane Harris and Awards Co-ordinator Jo Shilton. For those guests who attended the awards gala dinner, thank you also for joining in the Happy Birthday sing-song for our recently appointed Sales Executive Karen Collins. <1>: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=B7BDAD320BA47D4A <2>: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=k24bD4TqYtg <3>: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foodbev/sets/72157607486588646/ <4>: /subscription/subscribe.aspx